


mothman contains the properties of both moth and man

by ifeelpersonallyattacked



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, But it's only implied, Cryptid Hunter Keith (Voltron), Dorks in Love, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Lance (Voltron), Wing Hugs, and by that i mean lance sits in a tree and keith asks him questions, but it's happy!, lance is whipped right away, mothman lance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28666863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifeelpersonallyattacked/pseuds/ifeelpersonallyattacked
Summary: Lance is not The Mothman. He's just A Mothman, trying to survive in humanity's world. He avoids humans, and that's a good thing.But for Keith, a local cryptid hunter dead set on finding The Mothman, maybe he can make an exception.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 67





	mothman contains the properties of both moth and man

**Author's Note:**

> i'm well and truly obsessed with this concept. enjoy!

If there was one thing most humans got wrong about what they deemed “cryptids”, it’s that there were always more than they thought. But unlike the noisy, toddler-like humans that seemed to want to announce their presence anywhere they went, the cryptids of the world were much more...subtle. 

Lance had gotten his hands on enough human newspapers to figure out his people were collectively thought of as one creature; the Mothman. 

Many of his brethren bristled at the comparison to a moth, but Lance honestly thought the humans weren’t too far off. Their wings were brown and feathery to the touch. Their eyes were large and reflective to light(which was probably where that red-eye rumor came from), and they came out mostly at night. The trees and mountains were their homes, and it was a peaceful existence. Sure, it took a lot of work to stay concealed from the humans, but it honestly wasn’t that hard. Most of them were wholly unobservant. 

Except for Keith. 

Lance had first come across Keith on his nightly fly through the woods where he made his home. Being cooped up in his tree all day until the sun went down was absolutely  _ exhausting _ , and when he could finally take flight and feel the wind in his hair, experience the soaring feeling in his stomach, and see the light of the millions of stars above...that was when he was truly happiest. 

He had been flying rather close to the ground, screeching in utter delight, when a snap of a branch to his left had him fleeing to the safety of a nearby tree. Lance hadn’t come across many night hikers around this area, but one could never be too careful. 

Flattening himself against the bough, he listened intently for any indication it was a human, and sure enough, his ears picked up on the faint sounds of cursing and the breaking of copious amounts of sticks and shrubbery. 

Soon enough, a human came spilling out of the brush in front of him, looking rather disgruntled and weighed down with entirely too much gear. His hair was dark, tucked behind his ears in a mullet style. In his arms, he carried a map and a flashlight, and there was a camera strapped to his forehead. He also had a backpack on, looking positively stuffed to the gills. 

All in all, he reminded Lance of a short-tempered cat. 

“Okay,” the human said, seemingly speaking to no one, “it’s Day One of Mothman hunting. I’m currently in the woods outside of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The time is 1:46 in the morning.” 

Lance cocked his head, slightly amused as the human made his way closer to the tree where he was hiding. For some reason...this human seemed different than others he’d seen. There was something genuine about him, and a bright light in his eyes as he surveyed the area. He almost seemed... _ excited.  _

It gave Lance just a bit of pause, and he made himself comfortable in the branches as he watched the human traipse past his tree. 

“Hello? Mothman?” the human was calling, “My name is Keith Kogane! I’m not here to hurt you, I just want to see you. Maybe talk to you, if you’re okay with that?” 

Lance raised an eyebrow. He’d come across his fair share of Mothman hunters in his life, but none of them had ever asked  _ permission  _ to speak with him. This human... _ Keith... _ was interesting. 

Smirking, Lance raised himself up on his haunches. If Keith wanted a Mothman...he’d  _ get  _ a Mothman. He leapt off his branch, making sure to beat his wings loudly, flying to the opposite side of the path and landing on the limb of the tree there just as Keith whipped around. His eyes were wide and he fumbled with his flashlight, directing the beam towards the tree that Lance had just been in. 

“Who’s there?” he asked loudly, his voice shaking only slightly, “Show yourself!” 

The forest was still. Lance remained quiet in his tree, making himself as small as possible. 

After several minutes of Keith simply standing there and waiting, he finally turned back around, continuing his walk down the wooded path, muttering to himself. 

Feeling particularly devilish, Lance let out a low chirrup and rustled the leaves of the tree with his wings, evacuating to yet another tree once Keith whirled around again, significantly more rattled-looking. 

“Okay,” he said, aggression creeping into his tone, “Either someone’s pulling a prank on me, or…” He took a deep breath, looking a bit hopeful. “Mothman? If it’s you, could you give me a sign? Maybe hit something?” 

Lance knew he wasn’t supposed to reveal himself to humans. It was the first cardinal rule of his kind, but there was just something different about Keith. It made Lance want to spend more time close to him, wrap his wings around the human, and keep him safe from everything. 

The decision was made. Slowly, he raised his hand and brought it down against the trunk of the tree, creating a loud, hollow sound that echoed throughout the silence of the woods. 

Something sparked in Keith’s eyes and he smiled widely, venturing back down the path he had come from. “Oh, man...okay, um…” he murmured, mostly to himself, “Mothman? Is that really you?” 

Feeling bold, Lance clicked an affirmation. He could speak the local human tongue easily, but he wanted to keep Keith sure he wasn’t human. 

Keith looked like he was on cloud nine, swiveling his head around as he squinted at the trees, seemingly looking for the source of the click. “Okay, Mothman? Is it alright if I ask you some questions?” he said lowly, brushing his weird mullet-hair out of his eyes, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, just tap once for yes and twice for no. Cool?” 

Lance hit the tree once.  _ Yes.  _

Keith breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down on the ground, shrugging his backpack off of his shoulders, unzipping one of the many pockets, and pulling out a notebook. “Okay, um…” he hummed, skimming the contents of the pages.

Lance felt his heart ache. Keith had a  _ notebook.  _ Full of  _ questions.  _ For  _ him.  _ Gods above, he was adorable. 

“Oh, found it!” Keith said suddenly, “Okay, first question...will you come down and show yourself to me? I won’t take pictures or anything, I just want to see you…” 

He looked so full of hope that Lance was tempted to, but he knew he couldn’t. He had a responsibility to his kind, and he couldn’t blow it just because of a cute human boy. He thumped on the tree twice.  _ No.  _

Keith deflated a bit, but the smile didn’t leave his face. “That’s alright,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to come down either. Alright, question two: do you eat people?” 

_ What?!  _ What sort of a question was that? No, Lance most certainly did  _ not  _ eat people. None of his kind did. Humans really were quite dumb, they called his kind  _ Mothman  _ and yet expected them to partake in the very un-mothlike behavior of eating people. Lance thumped on the tree twice, hissing angrily.  _ NO! _

Keith looked slightly taken aback, but his face dissolved into a slight grin as he chuckled. “Okay, okay, sorry. I just wanted to check.” His smile became a slight smirk. “A guy’s gotta look out for himself, right?” 

Lance huffed, but said nothing. 

Despite the last question, the mood after that became considerably lighter. Lance could see the tension bleeding out of Keith’s body as he prattled off his questions, and it made his heart feel strange every time he watched the human tuck his hair behind his ear(even if it was an ugly hairstyle) or smile up at the trees. 

Lance was spending so much time staring at Keith’s face and the way his purple eyes looked like little stars that he didn’t realize Keith was saying something else. 

“I have to go now…” he was saying, slowly packing his things back into his pack, “But I can come back...I want to come back. Will…” He looked slightly nervous at this point; Lance could see a faint tremor in his hands. “Will you come back tomorrow?” 

Lance didn’t even have to think before thumping his answer against the tree.  _ Yes.  _

Keith’s responding smile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. “Great!” He stood up, hefting his pack onto his shoulders. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” 

And with that he was gone, disappearing into the bushes. 

Lance sat back against the trunk of the tree, processing what had just happened. He had become so enamored with that human it was almost funny. A blush quickly spread across his cheeks, warming his face in the cool night air. No, he  _ refused  _ to have a crush on a human. It wasn’t happening. No way, no how. 

Maybe he just wouldn’t show up tomorrow night. He had no obligation to, Keith was only a human. He’d get over it. Lance jabbed a finger into his forehead, his wings ruffling. “Get it together, man,” he whispered to himself, “You’re not coming back.” 

But even so, the next night, Lance was perched on the same branch of the same tree once more, keeping an eye out for Keith. And the night after that, and even after that. 

Keith came, just like he said he would. Every night, he would arrive at the same spot, plop himself down, and call out for Lance. And every night, Lance would answer back with a short trill or a thump. 

It was an unlikely friendship. Lance could only communicate in thumps to the tree trunk or the occasional chitter, and he never once showed his full form, but Keith didn’t seem to mind. He seemed more than content enough to sit on the forest floor and talk about his life, stopping to ask the odd question. Slowly, but surely, it seemed Keith’s true personality was revealing itself. Before, he had acted overly gracious and formal to him, probably trying not to scare him away, but bit by bit...that guise went away. 

Lance discovered Keith was actually a fairly grumpy and snarky person(really, the cat comparison wasn’t far off), bristly and sarcastic as well, but that he had a good heart and was determined. He had become more confident as well, and there was only one situation where Keith’s voice ever wavered. Whenever he asked Lance if he would come back. 

But Lance always answered yes, and he was happy to do so. The squeeze in his heart every time Keith appeared to him was irrelevant. They were friends, it was only natural. That wouldn’t change. 

It did.

\----------------------

Lance realized he was in love with Keith on a full moon. He had been flying to their normal meeting spot when he glanced up at the moon’s light, vaguely wondering if it could ever compare to the brightness of Keith’s eyes or the way he looked when he was telling a story.

Once he realized what he had just thought, he stopped mid-air, beating his wings to stay up. Since when had he become so sappy? Ever since...

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

Lance’s heart began beating fast, thumping loudly in his chest. Oh, gods. No...dear gods,  _ no.  _ He couldn’t be in love with Keith. He just couldn’t. 

Without even thinking, Lance reversed course, flying at full speed back to his home tree. No, no, no, no,  _ no.  _ This wasn’t happening. 

For the next four nights, Lance didn’t leave his tree. He couldn’t. He couldn’t face Keith, not after what he had realized. If he did, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. 

On the fifth night, the clanging started. 

Lance was dozing in his tree when the sound of metallic clangor jolted him awake, his feathers puffing up in automatic defense. 

“Mothman!” a distant voice called, “ _ Mothman!  _ Come out, you piece of shit!” 

_ Keith.  _

Lance groaned, rolling over and trying to go back to sleep. But the clanging only seemed to be getting louder, and finally he couldn’t stand it anymore. He rolled off the branch, spreading his wings and flying to his and Keith’s meeting spot for the first time in days. 

When he finally got there, he had to stifle a gasp. Keith looked absolutely  _ terrible.  _ There were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept in days, and his hair was mussed. His skin was paler than normal, but he looked angrier than Lance had ever seen him. He was holding two pans in either hand, clearly the source of the incessant banging noise.

Gods, what had Lance  _ done?  _

Without a second thought, Lance dropped down from the trees, landing with a soft thud on the forest floor, folding his wings behind him. 

At the sound, Keith twisted around so fast his hair was sent flying. His expression was elated for just a moment before it settled back into a frown, clearly disappointed at seeing what he thought was just another guy. “Piss off,” he said venomously, gritting his teeth, “I’m looking for someone.” 

Lance sighed, spreading his wings out to their full length and watching as Keith’s expression turned from upset to shocked. He let out a choked gasp, dropping the pans and taking a staggered step backwards. 

“Keith…” Lance croaked, “It’s me.” Just to prove himself, he let out a low chirrup, mimicking sounds he had made in earlier visits. 

For one long, horrible second, Keith simply stared at him. Then, he geared up and charged at Lance and Lance only barely had a moment to react before his arms were full of Keith. 

“Jesus  _ Christ…”  _ Keith breathed out, his words muffled as he buried his face in Lance’s chest, “I thought you had left…” He looked up, slowly reaching out a hand to cup Lance’s cheek. 

“You look human…” he whispered reverently, “And you can talk…?” 

Lance huffed out a laugh, grinning sheepishly. “Yeah...uh, surprise?” 

Something flashed in Keith’s eyes and the expression of anger returned. He wiggled out of Lance’s arms, shoving him backwards. “What the  _ hell?!  _ You said you would come back and you...you  _ left me.”  _

Lance looked down, shuffling his feet in shame. “I’m sorry...I just...I needed time to think.” 

Keith cocked an eyebrow. “About  _ what?”  _

Well, he couldn’t answer  _ that.  _ He looked away. “About...things.” 

Keith huffed, and before Lance could even comprehend it, his arms were full of Keith again. 

“Don’t leave again…” he mumbled, nuzzling into Lance’s chest, “I...I missed you.” 

Lance smiled, feeling his heart ache. But in a good way, this time. Slowly, he closed his wings around them to shield them from the outside world and pressed a kiss to the top of Keith’s head. 

“I missed you too…” he whispered, nosing into Keith’s dark hair. 

Perhaps being in love with a human wouldn’t be so bad.

**Author's Note:**

> and they lived happily ever after <3
> 
> leave a comment and kudos if you enjoyed, they make my day!


End file.
